Metal molybdenum as silver-white hard transition metal has characteristics of having specific gravity of 10.22, very high melting point and boiling point of 2,610° C. and 5,560° C., respectively, good thermal conductivity, and low thermal expansion coefficient and thus has been frequently used as alloy elements for increasing hardness, strength, tensile strength, and wear resistance to high-temperature lightweight structural materials such as airplanes and missiles, high-temperature electrical materials such as filament supports and electrodes for electric furnaces, and special steel such as stainless steel, heat-resistant steel, and superalloy steel.
All around the world, about 70 to 80% of the used amount of the molybdenum metal is manufactured in a form of molybdenum oxide (MoO3) briquettes or ferromolybdenum alloys to be used as alloy elements of steel and further, in a form of a molybdenum compound such as ammonium molybdate, sodium molybdate or molybdenum oxide powder, a considerable amount is also used in many petrochemical products such as catalysts, lubricants and pigments.
The molybdenum oxide may be used as a catalyst by forming a composite with metal molybdate and researches on the method of manufacturing the composite have been conducted and development of techniques to be performed in a better condition is required.